1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a card connector used in the connection of a card such as a memory card, etc. More particularly, the present invention relates to the construction of an eject mechanism for discharging the inserted card in such a card connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a compact memory card is widely used to record voice data and image data photographed by a digital camera.
It is known that the eject mechanism is arranged so as to discharge the inserted and connected card by a simple operation in the connector on the side of a device using such a card.
When the card is discharged by using such an eject mechanism, there is a fear that the card drops and is damaged when the card is ejected from the connector with strong force. Therefore, it is known that the card connector has a lock mechanism (a so-called half lock mechanism) for holding the card in a state not perfectly pulled out of a card insertion port while the electric connection of an electrode portion and an input-output terminal of the connector is released by suitably pulling-out the card when the eject operation is performed in a connecting state of the card.
In this half lock, the card is held in the card insertion port with suitable holding force. Even when force intended to pull out the card is applied in this state, no card is pulled out when this force is small. Namely, no card is naturally pulled out in the half lock state even when the card insertion port side is turned upside down so as to be downwardly located, or is vibrated by a normal use. In contrast to this, the card can be easily taken out when strong force is applied to the card such that the card is gripped by a hand and is pulled out.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 135192/1999 and 2001-185286 disclose a construction having the above half lock mechanism in the card connector of a push-push type using a heart cam mechanism.
On the other hand, in a state in which the card is connected and the electric connection of the electrode portion and the input-output terminal of the connector is made, it is advantageous to arrange a lock mechanism (a so-called full lock mechanism) for preventing the pulling-out of the card with holding force able to resist the strong force when the strong force for gripping and pulling-out the card by the user""s hand is applied. This is because the pulling-out of the card due to a mistake of the user can be prevented and erasion and damage of stored contents of the memory card can be prevented.
In this respect, the half lock mechanism is simply arranged and the above full lock mode cannot be set in each of the techniques disclosed in the above Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 135192/1999 and 2001-185286.
On the other hand, the construction for arranging both the half lock mechanism and the full lock mechanism is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 149956/1999.
However, in this technique, the full lock mechanism and the half lock mechanism are separately constructed and this construction is disadvantageous in view of the number of parts and compactness of the device. Further, when the card is pulled out in this construction, the card must be pulled out after an operation for releasing the full lock is once performed. Accordingly, the user must perform a complicated operation.
Further, the full lock state using the full lock mechanism is a state for resisting force for compulsorily pulling-out the card by the user. Accordingly, the full lock state must be a state in which the card is firmly locked in the connecting state and holding force able to prevent the pulling-out of the card must be shown even when considerably strong force is applied. Further, in the full lock mechanism, durability is also required so as not to be easily damaged and worn even when such strong force is applied many times.
In consideration of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a card connector able to prevent the card from being naturally pulled out and ejected and extracted in error by adopting two modes constructed by the half lock and the full lock in accordance with cases without damaging the simple operability of the push-push type, and having a simple construction for this prevention and suitable for a reduction in the number of parts and compactness.
The present invention resides in a card connector comprising a housing for forming a card storing space for inserting a card from an opening, and having an input-output terminal corresponding to an electrode portion of the card; an eject member able to be moved along inserting and pulling directions of the card, and switched to a xe2x80x9cfirst positionxe2x80x9d and a xe2x80x9csecond positionxe2x80x9d located on the side far from the opening in comparison with the xe2x80x9cfirst positionxe2x80x9d by a heart cam mechanism; biasing means for biasing the eject member in the card pulling-out direction; a push-moving portion integrally formed in the eject member, and able to abut on an end portion of the card in its inserting direction; an engaging portion arranged in the eject member, and projected to the card storing space and engaged with a notch formed in the card when the end portion of the card in its inserting direction comes in contact with the push-moving portion; a spring portion arranged in the eject member, and escaping the engaging portion from the card storing space and releasing the engagement of the engaging portion and the notch by elastically deforming the spring portion; and a guide portion arranged in the housing so as to allow the escape of the engaging portion from the card storing space when the eject member is located in the xe2x80x9cfirst positionxe2x80x9d, and prevent the escape of the engaging portion from the card storing space when the eject member is located in the xe2x80x9csecond positionxe2x80x9d.
In accordance with this construction, the following operations and effects can be attained.
[1] A full lock state is attained in a state in which the card is completely inserted and the eject member is located in the xe2x80x9csecond positionxe2x80x9d and the electrode portion is connected to the input-output terminal. In this full lock state, the engaging portion of the eject member is inserted into the notch of the card, and the release of this engagement is prevented by the guide portion, and no card can be pulled out even when strong force is applied to the card. Accordingly, stability of the electric connection is secured even when vibration is applied to the side of a device. Further, the pulling-out of the card performed in error by a user can be prevented.
[2] When an eject operation is performed and the position of the eject member is moved from the xe2x80x9csecond positionxe2x80x9d to the xe2x80x9cfirst positionxe2x80x9d by obtaining biasing force of the biasing means, the push-moving portion of the eject member abuts on the end portion of the card in its inserting direction, and pushes out the card in the pulling-out direction. Thus, the perfect inserting state of the card in the above [1] is released. At this time, since the inserting state of the engaging portion into the notch of the card is maintained by the action of the spring portion, the card is not forcibly ejected from the card storing space, but is held in a position corresponding to the xe2x80x9cfirst positionxe2x80x9d of the eject member.
[3] A half lock state is set when the eject member is located in the xe2x80x9cfirst positionxe2x80x9d. In this state, no card is pulled out of the connector when the device is turned upside down so as to downwardly direct this side of the housing and vibration is caused approximately by a normal use. On the other hand, the release of the engagement of the engaging portion and the notch is allowed by the guide portion. Accordingly, when pulling-out force stronger than the biasing force of the spring portion is applied to the card as in the pulling-out of the card performed by the user, etc., the engagement of the engaging portion and the notch is released by the elastic deformation of the spring portion so that the card can be easily pulled out.
In the card connector of the present invention, the above engaging portion and the above spring portion are preferably integrally formed in the eject member.
The number of parts and manufacture cost/the number of processes can be reduced by this construction.
In the card connector of the present invention, the above eject member may be formed by synthetic resin.
The eject member can be cheaply constructed by a small process number and manufacture cost can be reduced by this construction.
The present invention also resides in a card connector comprising a housing for forming a card storing space for inserting a card from an opening, and having an input-output terminal corresponding to an electrode portion of the card; an eject member able to be moved along inserting and pulling directions of the card, and switched to a xe2x80x9cfirst positionxe2x80x9d and a xe2x80x9csecond positionxe2x80x9d located on the side far from the opening in comparison with the xe2x80x9cfirst positionxe2x80x9d; biasing means for biasing the eject member in the card pulling-out direction; a push-moving portion integrally formed in the eject member, and able to abut on an end portion of the card in its inserting direction; an engaging portion arranged in the eject member, and projected to the card storing space and engaged with a notch formed in the card when the end portion of the card in its inserting direction comes in contact with the push-moving portion; a spring portion arranged in the eject member, and escaping the engaging portion from the card storing space and releasing the engagement of the engaging portion and the notch by elastically deforming the spring portion; and a guide portion arranged in the housing so as to allow the escape of the engaging portion from the card storing space when the eject member is located in the xe2x80x9cfirst positionxe2x80x9d, and prevent the escape of the engaging portion from the card storing space when the eject member is located in the xe2x80x9csecond positionxe2x80x9d; wherein at least the engaging portion of the eject member is formed by synthetic resin, and the engaging portion is formed in a thick wall shape.
In accordance with this construction, even when the card is pulled out in error by compulsory force in the full lock state for connecting the card to the connector, plastic deformation of the engaging portion is prevented so that durability of the eject member is excellent.
The present invention further resides in a card connector comprising a housing for forming a card storing space for inserting a card from an opening, and having an input-output terminal corresponding to an electrode portion of the card; an eject member able to be moved along inserting and pulling directions of the card, and switched to a xe2x80x9cfirst positionxe2x80x9d and a xe2x80x9csecond positionxe2x80x9d located on the side far from the opening in comparison with the xe2x80x9cfirst positionxe2x80x9d; biasing means for biasing the eject member in the card pulling-out direction; a push-moving portion integrally formed in the eject member, and able to abut on an end portion of the card in its inserting direction; an engaging portion arranged in the eject member, and projected to the card storing space and engaged with a notch formed in the card when the end portion of the card in its inserting direction comes in contact with the push-moving portion; a spring portion arranged in the eject member, and escaping the engaging portion from the card storing space and releasing the engagement of the engaging portion and the notch by elastically deforming the spring portion; and a guide portion arranged in the housing so as to allow the escape of the engaging portion from the card storing space when the eject member is located in the xe2x80x9cfirst positionxe2x80x9d, and prevent the escape of the engaging portion from the card storing space when the eject member is located in the xe2x80x9csecond positionxe2x80x9d; wherein the guide portion is constructed such that the engaging portion engaged with the notch of the card can reduce a projecting amount to the card storing space when the card is connected to the connector and the eject member is held in the xe2x80x9csecond positionxe2x80x9d and pulling-out force is applied to the card; and a regulating portion able to prevent the displacement of the eject member to the xe2x80x9cfirst positionxe2x80x9d is formed in the guide portion when the engaging portion of the eject member located in the xe2x80x9csecond positionxe2x80x9d reduces the projecting amount to the card storing space.
In accordance with this construction, when it is intended that the card is forcibly pulled out in the full lock state for connecting the card to the connector, the engaging portion reduces the projecting amount to the card storing space, and the regulating portion prevents the movement of the eject member from the xe2x80x9csecond positionxe2x80x9d to the xe2x80x9cfirst positionxe2x80x9d at this time. Accordingly, the mistaken pulling-out of the card is reliably prevented, and situations such as the erasion of stored contents of the card, etc. can be avoided. Further, it is prevented that the engaging portion of the eject member is broken by plastic deformation, and durability of the eject member is excellent.
Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.